Dolabrifera dolabrifera explained

Dolabrifera dolabrifera is a species of sea hare, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Aplysiidae, the sea hares.^[1] Dolabrifera dolabrifera, otherwise known as a Warty Seacat.^[2] The animal goes by many names, including the common sea hare.^[3] The Hawaiian name for Dolabrifera dolabrifera, is Kualakai.

Description & Biology

The Seacat is a flat sea hare that grows to about 10 cm long.^[4] The maximum recorded length is 108 mm.^[5] It is commonly spotty green or brown, but it can also be reddish. The animal's back half is typically wider and rounded, it narrows towards the head. Warty Seacats are soft-bodied gastropods, who have lost a protective shell over time.^[2] All species of sea hares have ink glands for chemical defense, though Dolabrifera dolabrifera does not release ink.^[6]

Distribution

This species is found in warm tropical and subtropical waters.^[4]

Habitat

These animals are majorly preyed on in their habitat.^[2] The Seacats live in shallow-flat pools that contain large boulders, near-shore. Collections of the hares gather underneath rocks in the intertidal zone.^[7] At night the warty Seacats hide themselves in between cracks found in the boulders. During the day, when the tide rises, the Seacats emerge. Due to the varying in color and pattern, it is hard to distinguish them from other species in the habitat.^[8] The minimum recorded depth for this species is 0 m; the maximum recorded depth is 3 m.^[9]

References

• Keen M. (1971). Sea shells of Tropical West America. Marine mollusks from Baja California to Perú. (2nd edit.). Stanford University Press pp. 1064:
• Bebbington A. (1977) Aplysiid species from Eastern Australia with notes on the Pacific Ocean Aplysiomorpha (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia). Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 34: 87-147.
• Rolán E., 2005. Malacological Fauna From The Cape Verde Archipelago. Part 1, Polyplacophora and Gastropoda.
• Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn, and E. F. García. 2009. Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 579–699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.

Further reading

• Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979

Notes and References

1. Bouchet, P. (2010). Dolabrifera dolabrifera (Rang, 1828). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=224652 on 31 March 2012
2. Himstead . Alexander . Wright . William G. . 2018-03-04 . Precise foraging schedule in an intertidal euopisthobranch mollusk . Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology . en . 51 . 2 . 131–141 . 10.1080/10236244.2018.1505430 . 91371208 . 1023-6244.
3. Web site: Aplysiidae - Marine Invertebrates of Kalaupapa National Historical Park . 2023-02-27 . www.botany.hawaii.edu.
4. Web site: jurisdiction=New South Wales; corporateName=Australian Museum; author=Rudman . W. B. . 2010-07-15 . The Sea Slug Forum - Dolabrifera dolabrifera . 2023-02-27 . www.seaslugforum.net . en.
5. Welch . John J. . 2010-01-19 . Joly . Simon . The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence . PLOS ONE . en . 5 . 1 . e8776 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0008776 . 20098740 . 1932-6203. 2808249 . free .
6. Prince . Jeffrey S. . Johnson . Paul Micah . 2006-11-01 . Ultrastructural comparison of Aplysia and Dolabrifera ink glands suggests cellular sites of anti-predator protein production and algal pigment processing . Journal of Molluscan Studies . en . 72 . 4 . 349–357 . 10.1093/mollus/eyl017 . 1464-3766. free .
7. Book: Hoover, John P. . Hawai'i's sea creatures : a guide to Hawai'i's marine invertebrates . 2010 . Mutual Pub . 978-1-56647-220-3 . 1293454919.
8. Valdés . Ángel . Breslau . Eric . Padula . Vinicius . Schrödl . Michael . Camacho . Yolanda . Malaquias . Manuel António E . Alexander . Jennifer . Bottomley . Morgan . Vital . Xochitl G . Hooker . Yuri . Gosliner . Terrence M . 2018-09-01 . Molecular and morphological systematics of Dolabrifera Gray, 1847 (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Heterobranchia: Aplysiomorpha) . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . en . 184 . 1 . 31–65 . 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx099 . 30319150 . 0024-4082. 6169219 .
9. Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. .